Nhat Hanh Quotes & Sayings

Without full awareness of breathing, there can be no development of meditative stability and understanding. — Nhat Hanh

And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation. Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to contribute our peace and serenity. The most important thing is for each of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart, some peace in our heart. Only then will we be able to relieve the suffering around us. — Nhat Hanh

One hour of compassionate deep listening can bring about transformation and healing. — Nhat Hanh

Let us not be afraid of decreasing. It is like the moon, we see the moon increasing and decreasing, but it is always the moon. — Nhat Hanh

When we live in the spirit of gratitude, there will be much happiness in our life. The one who is grateful is the one who has much happiness while the one who is ungrateful will not be able to have happiness. — Nhat Hanh

Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart. — Nhat Hanh

Buddhism has to do with your daily life, with your suffering and with the suffering of the people around you. — Nhat Hanh

Leaves are usually looked upon as the children of the tree. Yes, they are children of the tree, born from the tree, but they are also mothers of the tree. The leaves combine raw sap, water, and minerals, with sunshine and gas, and convert it into a variegated sap that can nourish the tree. In this way, the leaves become the mother of the tree. We are all children of society, but we are also mothers. We have to nourish society. If we are uprooted from society, we can not trasform it into a more liveable place for us and our children. — Nhat Hanh

As children, Siddhartha and Jesus both realized that life is filled with suffering. The Buddha became aware at an early age that suffering is pervasive. Jesus must have had the same kind of insight, because they both made every effort to offer a way out. We, too, must learn to live in ways that reduce the world's suffering. — Nhat Hanh

In the moment when we are able to smile, to look at ourselves with compassion, our world begins to change. — Nhat Hanh

Eating mindfully is a most important practice of meditation. We can eat in a way that we restore the cookie of our childhood. The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. — Nhat Hanh

If we know how to create the energy of love, understanding, compassion, and beauty, then we can contribute a lot to the world. — Nhat Hanh

The nectar of compassion is so wonderful. If you are committed to keeping it alive, then you are protected. What the other person says will not touch off the anger and irritation in you, because compassion is the real antidote to anger. Nothing can heal anger except compassion. That is why the practice of compassion is a very wonderful practice. — Nhat Hanh

Mother Earth is very talented. — Nhat Hanh

When I became a novice monk, I lived in a temple where the atmosphere was quite like in a family. The abbot is like a father and other monks are like your big brothers, your small, younger brothers. It is a kind of family. — Nhat Hanh

Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth. — Nhat Hanh

When you drop bombs on the enemy, you drop those same bombs on yourself, your own country. — Nhat Hanh

Be peace, don't just talk about it. — Nhat Hanh

We are always running, and it has become a habit. We struggle all the time, even during our sleep. We are at war with ourselves, and we can easily start a war with others. — Nhat Hanh

No thought about the past or future can pull you away from your present peace and joy. The universe exists in this present moment. No desire can pull you away from this present peace, not even the desire to become a Buddha or the desire to save all beings. Know that to become a Buddha and to save all beings can only be realized on the foundation of the pure peace of the present moment. — Nhat Hanh

When we are present, life is also present. — Nhat Hanh

Our smile will bring happiness to us and to those around us. Even if we spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone in our family, nothing we buy could give them as much happiness as the gift of our awareness, our smile. And this precious gift costs nothing. — Nhat Hanh

Reality is reality. It transcends every concept. There is no concept which can adequately describe it, not even the concept of interdependence. — Nhat Hanh

Compassion is a mind that removes the suffering that is present in the other. — Nhat Hanh

Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life ... , our way of looking at things, we will know ohw to make peace right in the moment, we are alive. — Nhat Hanh

In Buddhist culture, offering food to the monk symbolizes the action of goodness, and if you have no opportunity to support the practice of spirituality, then you are somehow left in the realm of darkness. — Nhat Hanh

The Noble Eight-Fold Path is the path of living in awareness. Mindfulness is the foundation. By practicing mindfulness, you can develop concentration, which enables you to attain understanding. Thanks to right concentration, you realize right awareness, thoughts, speech, action, livelihood and effort. The understanding which develops can liberate you from every shackle of suffering and give birth to true peace and joy. — Nhat Hanh

Often we tell ourselves, "Don't just sit there, do something!" But when we practice awareness, we discover that the opposite may be more helpful: "Don't just do something, sit there!" — Nhat Hanh

You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to wake up, to sprout, and to grow. — Nhat Hanh

Words and thoughts concerning compassionate action that are not put into practice are like beautiful flowers that are colorful but have no fragrance. — Nhat Hanh

The first thing I learned was that even if you have a lot of money and power and fame, you can still suffer very deeply. — Nhat Hanh

Harm no person, animal, plant or mineral. — Nhat Hanh

You are like fireworks. You go out into your children, your friends, your society, and the whole world. — Nhat Hanh

Listening is a very deep practice. You have to empty yourself. You have to leave space in order to listen especially to people we think are our enemies - the ones we believe are making our situation worse. When you have shown your capacity for listening and understanding, the other person will begin to listen to you, and you have a change to tell him or her of your pain, and it's your turn to be healed. This is the practice of peace. — Nhat Hanh

In order to rally people, governments need enemies ... if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us. — Nhat Hanh

True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There's no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected. — Nhat Hanh

The fact that I am standing there and washing bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. — Nhat Hanh

The present moment contains past and future. The secret of transformation, is in the way we handle this very moment. — Nhat Hanh

The healing of ourselves is the healing of the whole nation. Society is only a manifestation of our collective consciousness and our collective consciousness has a lot of fear, violence and hatred in it ... It is possible to transform our heart ... Not much time is needed ... (the transformation can be born) the moment you vow to go in the direction of peace and service. — Nhat Hanh

Wisdom and joy arise when you learn to exist now rather than in the nonexistent past or future. — Nhat Hanh

We try many ways to be awake, but our society still keeps us forgetful. Meditation is to help us remember. — Nhat Hanh

You can practice deep listening in order to relieve the suffering in us, and in the other person. That kind of listening is described as compassionate listening. You listen only for the purpose of relieving suffering in the other person. — Nhat Hanh

Breathe in and take one step, and focus all your attention on the sole of your foot. If you have not arrived fully, one hundred percent in the here and the now, don't take the next step. — Nhat Hanh

As a population, if a large number of people make even small moves to eat less meat and more plant-based foods, the livestock industry will shrink. Over time, farmers will find other crops to support their livelihoods. Through such collective awakening we can make a difference in our world. — Nhat Hanh

Seeds can produce seeds Seeds can produce formations. Formations can produce seeds. Formations can produce formations. — Nhat Hanh

It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community -a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth. — Nhat Hanh

To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living things with the eyes of compassion. — Nhat Hanh

In Zen Buddhism, the greater your doubt, the greater will be your enlightenment. That is why doubt can be a good thing. If you are too sure, if you always have conviction, then you may be caught in your wrong perception for a long time. — Nhat Hanh

I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. — Nhat Hanh

There is no real separation between self or no-self. Anything you do for yourself you do for the society at the same time. And anything you do for society you do for yourself also. — Nhat Hanh

Walk so that your footprints bear only the marks of peaceful joy and complete freedom. To do this you have to learn to let go. Let go of your sorrows, let go of your worries. That is the secret of walking meditation. — Nhat Hanh

Though we all have the fear and the seeds of anger within us, we must learn not to water those seeds and instead nourish our positive qualities - those of compassion, understanding, and loving kindness. — Nhat Hanh

Only your compassion and your loving kindness are invincible, and without limit. — Nhat Hanh

We inter-breath with the rain forests, we drink from the oceans. They are part of our own body. — Nhat Hanh

Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice DEEP LOOKING directed toward the other person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love. If you cannot understand, you cannot love. That is the message of the Buddha. — Nhat Hanh

Everything inside and around us wants to reflect itself in us. We don't have to go anywhere to obtain the truth. We only need to be still and things will reveal themselves in the still water of our heart. — Nhat Hanh

Every path, every street in the world is your walking meditation path. — Nhat Hanh

Hatred and fear blind us. We no longer see each other. We see only the faces of monsters, and that gives us the courage to destroy each other. — Nhat Hanh

Meditation is, first of all, a tool for surveying our territory so we can know what is going on. With the energy of mindfulness, we can calm things down, understand them, and bring harmony back to the conflicting elements inside us. — Nhat Hanh

If the people who hurt us have anger or desperation within them then they suffer. When you see that someone suffers, you might be motivated by a desire to help him not to suffer anymore. — Nhat Hanh

If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? — Nhat Hanh

Meditation is not passive sitting in silence. It is sitting in awareness, free from distraction, and realizing the clear understanding that arises from concentration. — Nhat Hanh

When you learn how to suffer, you suffer much less. — Nhat Hanh

When reality is perceived in its nature of ultimate perfection, the practitioner has reached a level of wisdom called non-discrimination mind - a wondrous communion in which there is no longer any distinction made between subject and object. — Nhat Hanh

You are a Buddha, and so is everyone else. I didn't make that up. It was the Buddha himself who said so. He said that all beings had the potential to become awakened. To practice walking meditation is to practice living in mindfulness. Mindfulness and enlightenment are one. Enlightenment leads to mindfulness and mindfulness leads to enlightenment. — Nhat Hanh

Wherever we are we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other and the wonder of our breathing. — Nhat Hanh

Knowing that anger makes me ugly, I smile instead. I return to myself and meditate on love. — Nhat Hanh

We do not have to die to enter the kingdom of Heaven, In fact we have to be fully alive. When we are truly alive we see that the tree is part of Heaven and we are also part of Heaven. The whole universe is conspiring to reveal this to us. Peace is available and when we touch it everything becomes real. We become ourselves, fully alive in the present moment. — Nhat Hanh

With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment. — Nhat Hanh

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others. — Nhat Hanh

You do not suffer because things are impermanent. You suffer because things are impermanent and you think they are permanent. — Nhat Hanh

A look filled with understanding, an accepting smile, a loving word, a meal shared in warmth and awareness are the things which create happiness in the present moment. By nourishing awareness in the present moment, you can avoid causing suffering to yourself and those around you. The way you look at others, your smile, and your small acts of caring can create happiness. True happiness does not depend on wealth or fame. — Nhat Hanh

Many of us worry about the situation of the world ... We need to remain calm, to see clearly. Meditation is a means to be aware, and to try to help. — Nhat Hanh

The moment you wake up, right away, you can smile ... You are aware that a new day is beginning, that life is offering you twenty-four brand new hours to live, and that that's the most precious of gifts. — Nhat Hanh

To love our enemy is impossible. The moment we understand our enemy, we feel compassion towards him/her, and he/she is no longer our enemy. — Nhat Hanh

I think Buddhism should open the door of psychology and healing to penetrate more easily into the Western world. — Nhat Hanh

By living deeply in the present moment we can understand the past better & prepare for a better future. — Nhat Hanh

The buddha called suffering a holy truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation. Embrace your suffering and let it reveal to you the way to peace. — Nhat Hanh

Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.
Breathing in, I am grateful for this moment.
Breathing out, I smile.
Breathing in, I am aware of the preciousness of this day.
Breathing out, I vow to live deeply in this day. — Nhat Hanh

Every word, every look, every action, and every smile can bring happiness to others. — Nhat Hanh

You have to do it by yourself. You can not do it alone. — Nhat Hanh

Water flows from high in the mountains Water runs deep in the Earth Miraculously, water comes to us, And sustains all life. — Nhat Hanh

Sometimes when I am alone in my room in the dark, I practice smiling to myself. I do this to be kind to myself, to take good care of myself, to love myself. I know that if I cannot take care of myself, I cannot take care of anyone else. — Nhat Hanh

The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring that person joy. — Nhat Hanh

Each breath we take, each step we make, each smile we realize, is a positive contribution to peace ... a necessary step in the direction of peace for the world. — Nhat Hanh

When we say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," we should also understand that "The Buddha takes refuge in me," because without the second part the first part is not complete. The Buddha needs us for awakening, understanding, and love to be real things and not just concepts. They must be real things that have real effects on life. Whenever I say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," I hear "the Buddha takes refuge in me." — Nhat Hanh

Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do to help. — Nhat Hanh

I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life. We cannot support any act of killing; no killing can be justified. But not to kill is not enough ... If in your thinking you allow the killing to go on, you also break this precept. We must be determined not to condone killing, even in our minds. — Nhat Hanh

Choose to be in touch with what is wonderful, refreshing, and healing within yourself and around you. — Nhat Hanh

If we are free from attachment, we can easily recognize ourselves in other people, in different forms of manifestation, and then we don't have to suffer. — Nhat Hanh

Loving ourselves means loving our community. When we are capable of loving ourselves, nourishing ourselves properly, not intoxicating ourselves, we are already protecting and nourishing society. — Nhat Hanh

There are two ways to wash the dishes. One way is to wash them to get them clean. The other way is to wash them in order to wash the dishes. — Nhat Hanh

Human beings are not our enemy. Our enemy is not the other person. Our enemy is the violence, ignorance, and injustice in us and in the other person. When we are armed with compassion and understanding, we fight not against other people, but against the tendency to invade, to dominate, and to exploit. — Nhat Hanh

This is a very important practice. Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself.
When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself.
The practice is always to go back to oneself. — Nhat Hanh

If we face our unpleasant feelings with care, affection, and nonviolence, we can transform them into a kind of energy that is healthy and has the capacity to nourish us. By the work of mindful observation, our unpleasant feelings can illuminate so much for us, offering us insight and understanding into ourselves and society. — Nhat Hanh

The joy of life is born of concentration. When you are having a cup of tea, the value of that experience depends on your concentration. You have to drink the tea with 100 percent of your concentration. — Nhat Hanh

Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere, any time. — Nhat Hanh

We ourselves need love; it's not only society, the world outside, that needs love. But we can't expect that love to come from outside of us. We should ask the question whether we are capable of loving ourselves as well as others. — Nhat Hanh

The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self, feeling guilty or proud of that self, and he offered revolutionary teachings that resounded like a lion's roar, like a great rising tide, helping people to wake up and break free from the prison of ignorance. — Nhat Hanh

In us, there is a river of feelings, in which every drop of water is a different feeling, and each feeling relies on all the others for its existence. To observe it, we just sit on the bank of the river and identify each feeling as it surfaces, flows by, and disappears. — Nhat Hanh